(Press-Register/Michelle Rolls-Thomas) Tylibra Baker waits with nieces Sara Watkins, 2, front; Arianna Watkins, 3 middle; and Joycelyn Watkins, 4 back; while thier mother applies for food at the Prodisee Pantry Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 in Spanish Fort. The food line at the Prodisee Pantry , a faith-based food relief center based in Spanish Fort, more than doubled this week due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and Tropical Storm Ida, which forced them to be closed last Tuesday. According to Deann Servos, Prodisee Pantry Director, they are seeing 800 to 1000 families come through the doors in recent months, and with the holidays coming the numbers will go higher. MOBILE, Ala. -- Area food banks are expecting to provide food to a record number of families this Thanksgiving.

And once Thanksgiving is done, they'll be looking for more donations to help restock shelves for Christmas.

At Prodisee Pantry in Spanish Fort, workers are preparing for about 1,200 families on Tuesday for the turkey and food giveaways, said Director Deann Servos. Last year, she said, almost 800 families were served.

"This year is the largest ever because of the struggling economy," Servos said Tuesday, as she helped distribute food to about 300 people who showed up at the pantry on its regular distribution day. Servos said the numbers were high this week because Tropical Storm Ida shuttered the operation last week.

Servos said she's seeing a lot of families "asking for help that have never asked before."

LEND A HAND

Donations to Prodisee Pantry can be mailed to P.O. Box 7403, Spanish Fort, Ala., 36577. For more information on how to volunteer or make a donation to the Bay Area Food Bank, call 251-653-1617.

With increased numbers, Servos said, her plea to "anyone who wants to be a good neighbor" would be to make tax-deductible monetary donations to the pantry.

The Bay Area Food Bank, which serves 24 counties in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, will provide Thanksgiving turkeys and meals to more than 200 agencies that then distribute the food to those who need it.

Jacqueline Barnes, development and communications director at the Bay Area Food Bank, said the food bank this year has experienced a 30 percent increase in the number of families it serves.

That number is expected to increase by another 30 percent during the holidays.

"We are currently stocked, but after Thanksgiving we'll be depleted," Barnes said. She said one of the biggest needs is for volunteers, at least 10 to 15 daily, to help inspect and pack food donations.

A food drive, which just ended, provided the Bay Area Food Bank with 1.5 million pounds for the service area, enough to get through Thanksgiving, Barnes said.

At the Prodisee, Servos said those who operate the food bank are relying on faith to make sure there's enough food Thanksgiving.